The Dance
by The.Squint
Summary: While sitting alone at Shaz and Chris's after party Alex wants to dance and her eyes land on Gene...


I don't not own Ashes to Ashes, but maybe if I wish really hard… Enjoy =D

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The room was absolutely beautiful.

She was sure that not even her frontal cortex would be able to create such a magnificent view. There was a fantastic mixture of colours ranging from the richness of gold to the duskiness of black. Balloons floated amongst the beautifully decorated tables, drinks were being drunk freely and people laughed as they danced amongst the dance floor.

The wedding ceremony itself was wonderful. Shaz looked stunning and the look on Chris's face as he watched her walk up the aisle was priceless. She never held much belief that young marriages could work after hers broke down but seeing them two together she just knew that there was no way that they would ever be without each other.

The after party was now in full swing and she had even accepted a few dances herself. Her most surprising request of all came from Ray and she realized something about him today that she never expected; he could dance, although now he was dancing with one of Shaz's bridesmaids. She found it incredible that even when seated on a table with mainly elderly people Ray still managed to pull.

However now she sat alone at her table watching as the rest of the couples filled the dance floor. It was times like this that she wished that she had a date. She let her eyes wonder and soon they had landed on Gene who was also sitting alone on another table. He was looking very handsome in his suit today, very nice indeed.

After a moment's thought she exited her seat and began to stride over to him very confidently. While in mid-pace his eyes lifted from the crowd and met hers and continued holding hers until she stood in front of him. She opened her mouth but before any sound escaped he spoke.

"No"

"You don't know what I'm going to ask you yet" She frowned in confusion.

"Yes I bloody do and the answer is No" his eyes never left hers.

"What was I going to ask you then?" she smiled, confident that he would crumble at the question.

"You, Bollyknickers were gonna ask me to dance with yer" Gene took happiness in seeing that knowing grin knocked off her face.

"How did y-" her face folded into a frown.

"Gene genie knows everything Bolly" he broke eye contact for the first time and replaced them onto the crowd of couples dancing to the upbeat tempo of the music.

"Doesn't know my birthday"

"May 23rd" his voice very matter-of-fact.

"If you know then why didn't I receive a card?"

"It's in the post"

She scoffed at his reply and decided to think of another question, one that she was sure that he wouldn't know. "Fine, well, you don't know my age"

"I could take a guess"

"And lose a tooth because of it"

She seated herself in the vacant chair beside Gene and began flattering her eye lashes in the hope that this would break his protective barrier and that he would soon end up giving into her request. It had never let her down before.

"You can stop that poxy doe eyed look coz it aint gonna work" he would stand firm, stand his ground and yet thinking this Gene still could bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"Just dance with me Gene" she was beginning to get slightly annoyed and her tone certainly proved this.

"No" his face now held that pout that was so typically Gene.

"Why not?" her voice sounded defeated and yet they both knew that she wouldn't give up that easy. Either he should give up now and dance with her or he was in for a very long night. Neither seemed appealing.

"I don't dance Bolly, simple as"

As if on cue, one of her all time favorite songs rung through the hall. Before her era and yet their legend had reached her ears causing her to love them and every piece of music that they had ever made; The Beatles and perhaps her favorite song of theirs, something.

"Ah" she sighed lightly and warm smile tugged at her lips. Gene having seen this literally predicted her next words, they were already written across her face. The guitar led into the start of the song "I love this song" her eyes glistened as they stared into his and suddenly he knew that he couldn't say no, not when she was looking as beautiful as she was now "Please" her voice holding such need that he could almost feel something soften within him, something which he hoped she hadn't seen. Slowly, he stood, composed himself and walked in front of her so that all she could see was him. He held out his hand.

"_Something in the way she moves"_

She smiled widely at him and placed her own hand within in his and soon they were on the dance floor mixed in with every other couple and yet something about them made them stand out amongst everybody else in the crowd.

"_Attracts me like no other lover"_

She gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her face centimeters from his and she could see that he was nervous; he was very tense and his eyes were looking everywhere but into hers. It was then she really saw the truth behind her mother words all those months ago _"This Lion that they all fear, well he is nothing but a little pussy cat"_. She felt as his hands rested upon her hips, sending unexpected electricity through her.

Placing her head onto his shoulder she was smothered by his scent; a mixture of alcohol, tobacco and aftershave. This scent that was so uniquely his filled her with a special kind of warmth and she loved it.

"_Something in the way she woos me"_

Gene's mind was racing. This was exactly why he didn't dance, especially with beautiful woman like Drake, it was almost too much to handle. Listening to the words of the song he had to hold onto a snort of laughter, they were practically the words of his inner thoughts and bloody typical for this to be one of her favourite songs. The thoughts within his head now were the ones that rarely saw the light of day, but in moments like this one; when he was holding her and everything he could see was her it was almost impossible to keep such feeling below the surface.

"_Don't wanna leave her now, you know I believe and how"_

The heat between them was just too much, he had felt her lift her head from his shoulder and could feel her eyes burning into him and he wanted to meet them with his own and yet he couldn't. Part of him was scared that she would be able to see right through him, right through to the thoughts that were running wild in his mind. She had a knack for that did Bolly, seeing through the lies straight through to the truth, that was one of the things that had drawn him to her from the start.

Still, he knew that he could let go, he could end this torment instantly, make some witty remark and return to the safety of his seat and yet he couldn't bring himself to let go. He knew that his reasoning was stupid, but finally having her in his arms made it impossible to let go. He groanedinwardly_ when did I turn into such a soft bastard?_

"_Somewhere in her smile she knows"_

God, he bloody hoped not.

"_That I don't need no other lover"_

Alex continued to look at Gene and wondered why he remained so tense? Slowly as they rocked back and forth to the music she found herself wanting to speak, felt as if some kind of invisible ice needed breaking and yet no words came to mind.

"_Something in her style that shows me"_

He couldn't take it any longer; just feeling her eyes burning into him and so he took action. He finally met her eyes. Blue collided with brown and suddenly everything seemed to stop, every simple bodily function was forgotten and yet still they danced. In the moment in which their eyes met the rest of the dance floor, the rest of the world disappeared. There was suddenly no murder, no corruption, no dystopia; it became them and only them. Time froze. The air surrounding was in fact smothering them and soon they both gasped for air not realizing that they had been deprived of it.

"_Don't wanna leave her now, you know I believe and how"_

Still their eyes held and it was then, it that moment that she could see something that she had been blind to in the past. She had always had a gift for seeing through people, right into the truth and now, looking into Gene's eyes she could see his truth, one that he had kept hidden from her and perhaps everyone else. She could see desire. A very real desire, almost animal like and to her surprise she didn't feel afraid or shocked, instead she felt excited and the same level of desire take over her body.

Feeling his dark hungry eyes devour hers she felt her stomach tighten, her body sweat and her head become lighter. Yes. Oh yes, she wanted him, perhaps as much as he wanted her.

She knew that he had always been something special, something very unique and she was sure that she had always felt this desire for him. Only, she had hidden it and only very rarely did it ever rise. She thought of one such time:

"_What would you do Gene? Last few seconds on Earth anything you wanted. Right now"_

"_What anythin'. Right 'ere right now"_

"_Say it"_

She was sure that he would. That he would say what needed to be said and then carry her upstairs to her apartment with the same hunger in his eyes as there was now, but he had said no and had left her on her own. As a result she packed away those feelings and focused on getting home, eventually becoming so wrapped up in this that she hardly ever had time to feel anything for this man, well, accept aggravation. Yet, there were times when sparks flew between them and this desire would always return. However, now she could feel it spread through her body, taking over her mind and soul. She had never felt anything this strong, not even for Pete.

Then the inevitable question rose; would he be enough?

"_You're asking me will my love grow"_

If she committed to him and they finally accepted what had been between them for so long, would it really be enough? Would the nightmares stop? Would he be able to fill the void that had been left in her heart ever since her separation from Molly? Molly.

"_I don't know, I don't know"_

How could she be sure that she just wouldn't end up resenting him, maybe hating him for not being who she missed dearly? Would she ever be able to lead a normal life, a happy life if it was to be without her daughter?

"_Stick around and it may show"_

What if she stayed and this desire that she seemed possessed with now passed and she hated what she was left with? Would she ever be able to love Gene enough? Could she ever really consider leaving her daughter? She needed her. She did. Gene needed her as well. Would she ever forgive herself if she stayed? How could she?

"_I don't know, I don't know"_

She finally broke eye contact, unable to stand the building tension between them. Many questions still ran through her mind. She didn't even realize when she spoke aloud.

"I don't know"

"What's 'at Bolls?" his voice was deep and husky causing her stomach to do a kind of summersault.

She didn't know what to say or how to make such a heartbreaking decision. It was never meant to be like this. She was never meant to form any emotional attachments with anybody in this world, especially not feelings to this extent. This was meant to be her dystopia. In fact, it wasn't even hers, it was Sam Tyler and yet now she couldn't help but wonder if it was dystopia at all or if it was her reality?

She opened her mouth, unsure of what was going to come out.

"Can you promise me that you will never leave me? That no matter what I say, no matter what I do that you will always be by my side?" she waited with baited breath for his response.

"Why?" his voice still low and husky, but now holding a slight curiosity.

"Because you're all I have"

"_Something in the way she knows"_

This had certainly taken him by surprise and the hurt in her voice caused his heart to break. She sounded so… what? Sad, alone, weak? Whatever it was, she didn't sound like his usual Bolly, that same confident, posh mouth tart and it physically hurt him. He began to rattle his brains for a correct response to such a heart wrenching comment.

"Eh" she met his gaze, but what he saw behind those great big eyes of hers was something that he rarely saw in them, and he hated it "Bolly. You should know that you 'ave me wrapped round yer bloody finger by now." He affectionately removed a lone strand of hair from the front of her face and placed it behind her ear. "Yer my BollyKnickers and there is no way that I'm goin' anywhere"

"_And all I have to do is think of her"_

Hearing those words she had to fight away the tears that were threatening to spill. She couldn't let Gene Hunt see her cry. Worse, she couldn't let Shaz or Chris see her cry, this was their day and any tears would spoil it and so as she looked into his sea of blue she swallowed back her tears and spoke from the heart.

"Thank you. You… you don't know what that means to me" she tried to give him a reassuring smile and yet knew that he could see right through her.

"_Something in the things she shows me"_

He could see it and how he wished he couldn't or at least he wished to be able to take it away. Looking into her eyes he could see the tears she was hiding, he can see that she was being tormented by something that he didn't understand and he wondered if she would ever share her secrets with him, the ones that cause her this much pain. He could see how sad she was and how venerable she felt and if they weren't surrounded by this many people he would take her in his arms and remove this sadness by any means necessary.

_"Don't wanna leave her know, you know I believe and how"_

He knew the song was almost over and that he had the right to return to his seat as he had only agreed to one dance, but now he wouldn't care if they danced like this forever. Subconsciously he tightened his grip on her.

As they swayed, the music began to fade she prayed that he wouldn't release his grip on her because she knew that he was the only thing that was keeping her from crumbling. This dance was her only distraction from her cruel mind and all its unanswerable questions.

She heard him sigh "Y'know I 'aven't danced like this since me bleedin' wedding"

She chocked a laugh at such a though. Before she could reply, he spoke once more "Another dance?"

She looked up at him and gently nodded her head and smiled her first real smile in what felt like a year.

Then she realized that what she felt for this man went beyond anything simple psychical and she silently cursed herself for ever getting into such a situation. If she left and returned home to Molly then the thought of never seeing Gene again would tear her apart. Whereas if she was to stay with Gene, never seeing her daughter again would cause her a pain she may never be able to overcome.

She felt them once more; the tears and so there, on the dance floor she made a decision that she would dance with this man; the man that brought her joy as well as pain, the man whom she had fallen for, the man named Gene Hunt. She placed her head once again on his shoulder and inhaled his comforting scent, a scent she had learnt to love.

She removed any thoughts of 2008 from her mind and decided to let her heart take over for tonight.

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I hope that you enjoyed it. Not too sure on the ending so please let me know what you think. I absolutely love reviews so please if you could spare two minutes of your time I would very much appreciate it =D Thank you.


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